GREGORY HOUSE, MD (An Alternate Story)

Chapter XII

Going out of the hospital to meet Malayna. Today's Thursday and might not be the best night to go since people still have the next day for work but I guess it's the perfect time for a peaceful night at a restaurant. I'm heading out at 4 in the afternoon to actually prepare. I don't know why I need to prepare it's just Malayna but here I am going out early but it's fine since I don't have anymore patients. As I was thinking that, Cuddy called me and was holding a file.

"House!" she called me waving the file

I walked towards her just looking at the file then she asked me a question I'd never thought she'd ask.

"Do you want to have dinner tonight?"

"Uhmm.. Is that file for me? Is that a case?"

She was shocked with my response. To be honest, I don't really know how to respond to that question. It's not that I don't want to have dinner with her, it's just that as of now I don't want to spend much time with her because I'm still trying to move forward. I don't want to lie anymore. I am moving forward and I can't be around her that much anymore.

"Uhmm no actually. It's for another doctor. I was just going to ask you if you're free for dinner. I want to talk to you about—"

"Oh. I'm sorry I have to meet someone. Maybe some other time." I cut her off and smiled after. I am not ready to hear whatever she has to say yet. At least not now.

"Okay" she replied with a small smile

I nodded and went on. I honestly don't know how to feel about her. For the first time in my life, I am not certain about what to feel about her. As I was walking to my car, I noticed my leg started to hurt. When I reached my car, I took some Ibuprofen. Yes Ibuprofen. I haven't had Vicodin since that collapsed building incident. Somehow I didn't find the need to take it. Just now. But I will not. I am not going down there again. Not again. I was drowning in my thoughts until I reached my apartment then I headed to the restaurant. The text I got from Malayna was her texting me the place for a dinner. It was the same restaurant where Malayna and I met for the first time here in Princeton. I saw her sitting in the corner of the restaurant texting. As soon as she finished texting she lifted her head and wave at me.

"Hey! How are you?" she asked

"Fine"

She looked at me for a while with a look that says "you can't lie to me". But she responded with

"Okay. Let's eat then."

There she is again, not probing just waiting for me to open up.

We ordered food and ate them. For a while nobody talked. I know she can feel the tension in the air. She knows that I'm scared of what's about to happen because I don't know what's going to happen. While I was eating away, Malayna broke the silence with a shocking revelation.

"I got married"

I stopped eating and looked at her. She continued.

"When I left, I went to medical school. Finished my undergraduate studies and went on medicine proper then had my specialty which was surgery. There I met my husband. He was a surgeon too. After our residency we decided to get married. Then a year after we had a baby. Her name was Isabel"

"Wow" that was my only response to everything she told me.

"She was a loving baby and my husband loved her so much. She had so much love for other kids too especially that her dad and I were pediatric surgeon. She saw sick kids all the time. She never complained about our long hours at work because she knew sick people need us."

She smiled telling me the story. I smiled too but she stopped and looked like she remembered an ugly incident. Then she continued

"On her eighth birthday, we decided to take her to Disneyland. Every child's happy place. We wanted to make up for the long hours of work. While driving, we sang her favorite song and then out of nowhere, a truck hit us. The next thing I knew we were all in the hospital. I was badly injured and so are my husband and my child. I was asleep for days. I woke up on the third day and was asking the doctors about my family. They told me my husband died as soon as we arrived at the hospital and my daughter was fighting for her life."

Her voice started to crack and I immediately I held her hand.

"I begged the doctors to let me see her but I was too sick to get out of bed. I hooked up to a lot of machines. Then that afternoon they told me that my daughter died. At that time, I lost it. I didn't know what to do. My mom was there trying to feed me and helping me with my physical therapy. Then as I was going of the hospital the last note the doctors gave me is that I won't be able to do surgery anymore. Because of the accident, my right hand was badly hurt that no surgery or therapy can heal it"

"Malayna. I am sorry"

She looked at me with a smile but a tear escaped her eye. She continued

"I honestly did not know how I got through all those. I was depressed for a year. I was going through physical and psychotherapy. I did not eat for weeks. I would lock myself in my daughter's room and hugged her pillow. But a year after that incident, my therapist suggested that I go back to practicing medicine not as a surgeon but just as a consult doctor. There I found my ground again, I feel like helping those kids made me closer to them especially to my daughter. So when I got an offer for this project I never hesitated. I feel like helping these kids find answer for this disease is a way of keeping my family's spirit alive"

She stopped and smiled. She looked at me and held my hand tighter.

"I am so glad that I saw you Greg. I am so happy that even though you haven't them, I was still able them to share their story to you."

"I am so happy you opened up May. I can never imagine how hard those times for you and I am sorry I wasn't there to help. Thank you for sharing your story even though you didn't have to."

"I consider you my best friend Greg. We have known each other since we're young and I want us to be there for each other when we grow old. And the universe has given us a chance to have that so I made use of it. Telling you what happened to me is a start"

We both smiled. I like Malayna so much. I feel like she's the only person I can talk to without judgement or rationalization. Don't get me wrong, Wilson is my best friend but Malayna seems like a friend too but on a different level. She's like my person.

We the rest of dinner and shared stories that was due for a long time. I was shocked my leg didn't hurt at all. I offered her a ride home and she said yes. As I was driving I noticed that our apartments are not far from each other so I got an idea

"Hey! Last time you said, you wanted to be at my place. Is it okay if I show you my home now?"

"That will be lovely" she replied

We drove to my home which was only a few blocks away from hers

"Your place is near to my place? That is so cool"

"Let's get in"

We were at my apartment and she immediately smiled when she saw my piano

"You have a piano? You really did learn this huh?"

"Yeah, well, I had a good coach to begin with" I looked at her and smiled

"I like your apartment Greg, it's very you"

"Well, I was thinking of moving to be honest"

"What? Why?"

"I have been in this place for 15 years and a lot of stuff that I want to move past to happened here"

"Oh. Okay. I will help you with that. I can come with you when start looking for a new place"

We were chatting away when she asked me a question

"What's going on with you and Dr. Cuddy?"

I was trying to find the words to explain. Suddenly what happened earlier popped into my head. What did she want to talk about? Was is work related? Was it personal? Just as I was about to answer, my pager rang with an emergency call.